Basilica Facts

SAINT PETER'S BASILICA
Introduction
The Basilica Papale di San Pietro in the Vatican City (Saint Peter's Basilica) is the most
famous Roman Catholic church in the world and one of the holiest sites in Christendom, dating back to
Roman architecture of the early Christian art period.
The basilica, now the Pope's principal church, was built according to tradition above the
burial site of St. Peter, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus and the first Bishop of Rome, who was
martyred in the year 64 CE. To maintain this tradition, Popes are now buried within the basilica.
Designed as a replacement for the old Constantinian church (where, for instance, King Charlemagne had
been crowned Holy Roman Emperor on Christmas Day 800) which had been erected around 320 CE,
construction of the present building was begun in 1506 (under Pope Julius II) and completed in 1626
(under Pope Urban VIII).
Admired for its Renaissance sculpture as well as its fusion of Renaissance and Baroque
architecture, the design, construction and decoration of Saint Peter's involved the greatest Old Masters
of the day, including Alberti, Raphael, Bramante, Michelangelo, and Bernini. Note that it is called a papal
basilica rather than a cathedral, since it is not the seat of a bishop: The Arch Basilica of St. John Lateran
is actually the cathedral church of Rome. The latter functions as the principal church for worshippers
who live in Rome, whereas the former serves as the focal point for all pilgrims who come to Rome, as
well as locals.
Background: Art and Religion
From the 9th century onwards, the Christian Church was inextricably linked with the fine
arts of architecture (for basilicas, cathedrals, churches, abbeys like Cluny), sculpture (both reliefs and
statues) and painting (altarpiece panels as well as monumental works), for which it became the greatest
sponsor and patron across Europe.
It also commissioned many types of decorative art, including stained glass (notably in
Gothic cathedrals), and tapestry art, as well as a huge range of mural painting (Sistine Chapel)
illuminated manuscripts and miniature painting.
In south-eastern Europe, in particular, it commissioned numerous items of mosaic art

and a wealth of icon-painting. All these beautiful designs and objects of religious art were created in
order to inspire religious congregations with the Christian message.
History
The pope who first mooted the idea of a replacement for the old Constantinian basilica
was Pope Nicholas V (1447–55), who commissioned Leon Battista Alberti (1404-72) and Bernardo
Rossellino (1409-64) to produce a plan for a new structure. Pope Sixtus IV (1471-84) founded new
churches, including the Sistine Chapel, widened streets, and helped to transform Rome into a
Renaissance city, but left the basilica alone. It wasn't until his nephew Pope Julius II took over as pontiff
in 1503 that things began to move. Julius decided to demolish the old basilica and replace it with a new
one to house his large tomb. A long succession of popes, architects, designers and stone masons
eventually saw the project through to completion in 1626. Active pontiffs included: Leo X (1513–1521),
Clement VII (1523–1534), Paul III (1534–1549), Sixtus V (1585–1590), Gregory XIV (1590-1), Clement VIII
(1592–1605), Paul V (1605–1621), and Urban VIII (1623–1644), while among the most famous architects
(Capomaestro) involved in its design, were Donato Bramante (1444-1514), Raphael (1483-1520),
Giuliano da Sangallo, Baldessare Peruzzi, Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Michelangelo (1475-1564),
Giacomo della Porta, Carlo Maderno (1556-1629) (assisted by Francesco Borromini 1599-1667) and
Giovanni Bernini (1598-1680).
The lengthy and intermittent progress of its construction illustrates the changing course
of High Renaissance art towards a break from strict, antique precedent to the freer eclectic tendencies
of Mannerism and ultimately the Baroque. The artistry, architectural grandeur and sheer mass of St
Peter's Basilica reaffirmed the status of Rome as the spiritual, if not temporal, home of Christianity.
Architects
1. Donato Bramante - Bramante proposed a Greek Cross plan, the centre of which
would be surmounted by a dome slightly larger than that of the Pantheon.
2. Giuliano Da Sangallo – He strengthened and extended the peristyle of Bramante into

a series of arched and ordered openings around the base. In his hands, the rather delicate form of the
lantern, based closely on that in Florence, became a massive structure, surrounded by a projecting base,
a peristyle and surmounted by a spire of conic form, but the plan was simply too eclectic to be
considered.
3. Raffaello Sanzio - The main change in Raphael's plan is the nave of five bays, with a
row of complex apsidal chapels off the aisles on either side.
4. Baldassare Peruzzi - Maintained changes that Raphael had proposed to the internal
arrangement of the three main apses, but otherwise reverted to the Greek Cross plan and other
features of Bramante.
5. Antonio Da Sangallo The Younger - Main practical contribution was to strengthen

Bramante's piers which had begun to crack.
6. Michelangelo – He reverted to Bramante’s original design, the Greek Cross and

converted its snowflake complexity into massive, cohesive unity.
7. Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola Appointed by Pope Pius V as a watchdog to make sure that
Michelangelo's plans were carried out exactly after his death.
8. Giacomo Della Porta - He subsequently altered Michelangelo’s design by adding of

lion's masks over the swags on the drum in honor of Pope Sixtus and adding a circlet of finials around
the spire at the top of the lantern, as proposed by Sangallo. Also proposed to raise the outer dome
higher above the inner one.
9. Carlo Maderno - He made the most significant contribution since Michelangelo,
because he pulled down the remaining parts of Old St. Peter's and proceeded to transform
Michelangelo's centralized Greek-cross design into a Latin cross with a long nave.
10. Gian Lorenzo Bernini - He was regarded as the greatest architect and sculptor of the
Baroque period. Bernini's works at St. Peter's include the baldacchino, the Chapel of the Sacrament, the
plan for the niches and loggias in the piers of the dome and the chair of St. Peter.
By the 15th century the church was falling into ruin. Discussions on repairing parts of
the structure commenced upon the pope's return from Avignon. Two people involved in this
reconstruction were Leon Battista Alberti and Bernardo Rossellino, who improved the apse and
partially added a multi-story benediction loggia to the atrium facade, on which construction continued
intermittently until the new basilica was begun.

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SAINT PETER'S BASILICA

Background: Art and Religion

In south-eastern Europe, in particular, it commissioned numerous items of mosaic art

2. Giuliano Da Sangallo – He strengthened and extended the peristyle of Bramante into

5. Antonio Da Sangallo The Younger - Main practical contribution was to strengthen

6. Michelangelo – He reverted to Bramante’s original design, the Greek Cross and

8. Giacomo Della Porta - He subsequently altered Michelangelo’s design by adding of

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